Liven Up Your Office Space!

Not every office space can look like WeWork, with its exposed brick walls, phone booths, unlimited coffee bar, and open desk plan that just gives off a hip, cool vibe. Employers face a difficult task to design office spaces that look professional for their clientele, while at the same time offers an atmosphere that’s comfortable, inspirational and increases productivity for their employees.

When taking over a blank commercial space, it’s crucial to think about your design plans. In fact, recent studies have shown that the most significant factor in an employees ability to focus is their physical environment. The same study found that a well-designed office space can even increase productivity by 20%!

If you’re about to get started designing an office space for your business, here are a couple of tips to keep in mind that will help liven up your interiors while maintaining a productive environment.

• Cubicles vs. Open Spaces – The debate has been raging about the productivity of cubicles vs. open spaces. Over the past couple of years, open spaces have won over, with many companies preferring the casual, open environment. Recently, however, studies have shown that open spaces are actually worse for productivity, and so cubicles are making a comeback. Before you decide which is best for your business and brand, think about how open spaces or cubicles will foster creativity and productivity.

• Statement Flooring – Durable and stain resistant patterned broadloom carpets or herringbone luxury vinyl tile are all great flooring options, especially for high traffic areas. Philadelphia Commercial, meanwhile, also offers attention grabbing patterned carpet tiles that make a statement! In the Press Collection has a geometric aesthetic that is stylish, while Beyond the Wall is trendy and artistic. Both collections are also high performance, with superior wear resistance, extraordinary color retention and lightweight EcoWorx tile backing that’s both PVC-free and certified recyclable.

• Lighting – Lighting is often overlooked but one of the most important elements to keep employees creative and productive. Bad lighting can cause fatigue, eye strain and even depression, so it’s important to invest in the right lighting for your space. Pendant lights, bright desk lamps, and natural light bulbs can turn your office space from drab to fab!

• Walls – For office spaces that don’t have any windows, liven up the walls that your employees will be looking at for eight+ hours a day! Install patterned wallpaper in an array of design and colors, or even use laminate on the walls for rustic office spaces. Don’t shy away from color too or go bold with stripes in your brand’s colors.

• Nature – Bring nature into your workplace and go green with pretty potted plants, succulents and strategically placed indoor trees. The extra oxygen will improve air quality and keep employees from falling asleep at their desks.

• Art Work – Motivate yourself and your employees with inspiring art work, quotes, and images. Encourage your employees to use images that make them smile on their desktops or bring in personal framed prints from home that they can hang up in their offices and cubicles.

• Fun Office Supplies – We can write an entire blog post dedicated to fun office supplies! Organization supplies that put the FUN in functional, like colorful boxes that are also storage, printed washi tape and cute pens and notepads. Bold mousepads, desktop charging stations and this cute elephant pencil/phone holder will make your employees excited to get to work every morning!

Are you working on your office design? Share with us your most helpful tip and advice in the comments!